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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25552261">the anatomy of a crush</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/qrovers/pseuds/qrovers'>qrovers</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Mythic Quest: Raven's Banquet (TV)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>(mentioned) - Freeform, F/F, Fluff, Pre Canon, Realizations, Yearning, oh no there was only one bed, road trip: beer pong the movie, the danarachel agenda, yeah - Freeform</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-07-27</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-07-27</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-05 11:08:44</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,788</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25552261</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/qrovers/pseuds/qrovers</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>The rainy night when Rachel realizes her feelings, as told through the 5 senses.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Dana/Rachel (Mythic Quest: Raven's Banquet)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>8</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>38</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>the anatomy of a crush</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>it's about the Yearning</p><p>danarachel deserves more fics 😔</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <b>i. sight</b>
</p><p> </p><p>The glass doors are foggy from the rain that's pouring heavily outside.</p><p>Rachel planned on leaving about half an hour ago, but she’s been standing here, just watching the windows and the raindrops for that long.</p><p>It rarely ever rains in LA, so she feels like she should be grateful for it, and to an extent, she is. If only it was predicted, and if only she wasn't needed somewhere else, then she would've brought an umbrella. </p><p>That's why when she sees Dana leave the elevator, she starts beaming as she waves to get her attention. </p><p>Dana’s cool, Rachel likes her a lot.</p><p>When they first met around a month or two ago, David was showing Dana around the office and found Rachel sitting silently, eyes half lidded as she defeated another boss. He knocked on the testing room door and smiled. </p><p>“Rachel?” He said, “Meet the new tester. Her name's Dana.”</p><p>When she looked over, she sucked in a breath. It was kinda stupid, but Dana was just <em> so </em>pretty, hair in braids and smiles so full with excitement. She extended her hand to Rachel and greeted her with a “Hello!”</p><p>Rachel, being the disaster that she is, blinked and said, “Wow, you're really pretty.”</p><p>A beat. </p><p>Then she realized what she said and put a hand over her mouth. “Oh my god, sorry—I’m Rachel.”</p><p>Dana was smiling back at her though, shaking her hand once she held it and said, “Dana. You're really pretty too.”</p><p>Rachel thinks she's really cool. </p><p>“Dana!” She says, waving to get her attention. “Hey!”</p><p>Dana tears her attention away from her phone and waves back, walking to her as she does.</p><p>“Hey, uh,” she puts a thumb on her chin as if she's thinking, “You’re Raspberry, right?”</p><p>Rachel punches her arm lightly. “Oh, shut up,” she says, but she's laughing. </p><p>Dana looks over at the window and frowns. “I didn't realize it’d be raining this hard.”</p><p>“Me too,” Rachel grimaces, then snaps her fingers when she remembers why she called her. “Oh, right! Do you have an umbrella?”</p><p>To her surprise, though she's not sure why she is, Dana shakes her head and shrugs, putting her phone in her pocket. </p><p>“Dammit,” Rachel mutters, mostly to herself. “I have to be somewhere later.”</p><p>Dana looks at her, then looks at a coat hanging on the rack near the door. Rachel can practically see a lightbulb pop above her head. </p><p>She furrows her eyebrows. “What are you thinking?”</p><p>Dana, rather mischievously, looks at her and smiles. </p><p> </p><p>
  <strong>ii. smell</strong>
</p><p> </p><p>“Are you sure this is gonna work?” Rachel asks. She’s sitting on Dana's shoulders as she covers both of them with a coat that isn't theirs as a substitute for an umbrella. She smells like lavender, Rachel notices, now that she's closer. </p><p>Dana laughs. “Nope.”</p><p>They run on the street screaming under the rain. </p><p>They're both doused almost instantly, the coat doing its best (which isn't even that good) to keep them dry. They're not even sure where they're <em> going </em> and just hoped for the best when they ran out of the lobby. The cars are honking at them. The smell of lavender is gone. </p><p>“I don't think this is working,” Rachel says.</p><p>“Oh, wow,” Dana replies, a snarky bite in her tone, teasing as she says, “Didn't even realize. Thanks, Rache.”</p><p>Rachel pinches Dana’s cheeks in response, noticing how her stomach flips at the nickname. At least it's not Raspberry anymore. </p><p>She asks, “Didn't you say you live near here?”</p><p>Dana says, “Yeah but don't you have somewhere you need to be?”</p><p>And, as if on cue, a car speeds next to them, its wheels splashing on a puddle on the road and dousing them in dirty highway water. </p><p>“Yeah, let’s just go to my place.”</p><p> </p><p>#</p><p> </p><p>Dana’s place smells like a lot of things. Scents of burning candles and dish soap and rose shampoo fill the air when she opens the door to her studio apartment. It smells like—Rachel tries to think of a word—somehow like home, even if her home doesn't smell like this at all. </p><p>“Sorry about the mess,” she says, gesturing to a coffee table littered with books and notes. </p><p>She replies, “It's okay.” </p><p>Rachel stands in front of the door, too scared to move and get anything wet. She looks at the framed photos on the wall. There's one where Dana and her dad are in a photobooth, there's another of her at a party. Rachel can’t help but smile. She looks cute in all of them.</p><p>“I’ll get you a towel and a change of clothes before I shower,” Dana’s saying, opening and scouring through a drawer. </p><p>Rachel puts her hands up. “No! No, it's—uh it's okay. I don't wanna impose. I might be leaving soon, anyways.”</p><p>Dana looks at her and makes a face. “Rachel, there is no way I’m letting you out with that storm.”</p><p>“Does it storm in LA?”</p><p>“And I won't let you sog up my couch,” Dana throws a bunch of clothes to her bed and an unused towel to Rachel, who catches it perfectly. </p><p>“Thanks.”</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>iii. sound</b>
</p><p> </p><p>Rachel changes into Dana’s clothes after drying up. She gave her an oversized hoodie of a singer she loves and some sweatpants. Rachel tries not to do the weird thing and hug herself because of the softness of the fabric. </p><p>She's looking at a shelf filled with knick knacks when she hears the shower turn off. A few moments later she hears Dana say, “Wow, you look really good in that hoodie.”</p><p>Rachel feels her cheeks heat up. “Thanks,” she says, looking down at it. </p><p>“Do you know Mitski?”</p><p>“Oh, yeah, definitely.”</p><p>“Do you mind if I play some?”</p><p>“Not at all.”</p><p>Dana connects her phone to a speaker and blasts <em> Pink In The Night </em> as she starts changing. Rachel, heating up even more, turns to her back in an attempt not to be weird. </p><p>“So, what were your plans?” Dana asks.</p><p>“Huh?”</p><p>“You said you needed to be somewhere? Do you have a date or something?”</p><p>“Oh,” Rachel scoffs. “No, I—um—There's this movie I wanted to watch. It's premiering on Fox Movies tonight or something.”</p><p>“You can turn around now.”</p><p>She does. Dana is making a face at her, like she's trying not to laugh. She's wearing loose fitting pajama pants and a faded T-shirt. She asks, “Fox Movies?”</p><p>“What's wrong with Fox Movies?”</p><p>“You watch your movies <em> on cable? </em>” She asks, genuine interest in her tone. She starts collecting the discarded clothes on the floor. “Why not Netflix or Hulu?”</p><p>“My parents changed the password to both accounts. Plus, I checked. It wasn't there.”</p><p>Dana snorts. “Pirate it?”</p><p>“I’m a law abiding citizen,” Rachel says. When Dana cocks an eyebrow up at her, she caves. “Fine, I don't know how.”</p><p>Dana’s laugh is a nice sound. It's bubbly and bright and colorful, filling up the room and lighting it up on fire. Rachel’s heart picks up in speed. She wouldn't mind hearing it more.</p><p>Dana puts all the dirty laundry into a bin and grabs her laptop from the coffee table. She flops onto her bed and beckons Rachel to do the same. “C’mon, I’ll teach you.”</p><p>Rachel perks up. “Really?”</p><p>“Yeah,” then she pauses, “On one condition.”</p><p>“I won't rat you out to the FBI,” she jokes. </p><p>Dana laughs again. Her stomach whoops. </p><p>“Not that, but thanks. No, uh, can you order dinner?”</p><p>“Oh, sure.”</p><p> </p><p>
  <strong>iv. taste</strong>
</p><p> </p><p>She orders from this pizza place she always goes to in the mornings. When she gets their dinner from the door, she hears Dana say excitedly, “It's finished downloading! We can watch with movie food!”</p><p>They settle on Dana’s bed with her laptop in front of them. Rachel sits criss-cross applesauce on the right side of the bed with a plate of a pizza slice in hand while Dana is on the left, on her stomach, head on her hand as they watch the movie which, in Rachel’s honest opinion, is pretty fucking bad. </p><p>“This is pretty fucking bad,” she says before taking a bite. It tastes better for some reason, like the home-y feeling of Dana’s apartment makes the flavours a hundred times richer. </p><p>“I can't believe you made me download,” Dana squints her eyes and reads the title, “<em> Road Trip: Beer Pong </em>.”</p><p>“I didn't realize it’ll be that bad.”</p><p>“The guy who looks like Brad is having phone sex, Rache.”</p><p>“Yeah, I didn't expect that.”</p><p>Dana takes another pizza slice and holds it up. “This is super good, though.”</p><p>“You really think so?”</p><p>“Yeah.”</p><p>“There's actually a branch really close to the office,” Rachel says. “I get one from there almost every morning.”</p><p>“For real?”</p><p>She nods.</p><p>“Count me in, then.”</p><p>“What do you mean?”</p><p>“Let's have pizza on our way to work in the morning.”</p><p>Rachel blinks. She needs a moment to process this. Her palms feel clammy. “Uh, um. Yeah, sure.”</p><p>Dana looks back at the movie and scrunches her nose. She presses the spacebar and pauses it. “And let’s stop this.”</p><p>“Agreed.”</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>v. touch (or lack thereof)</b>
</p><p> </p><p>“You don't have to sleep on the couch,” Rachel pleads. </p><p>The storm is still raging from outside the window, so they decided it's best if Rachel just stays the night.</p><p>“Well, I don't want <em> you </em>staying on the couch,” Dana crosses her arms over her chest. “I’d be a terrible host.”</p><p>“I’m fine with the couch,” Rachel reasons. </p><p>“Well, so am I!”</p><p> </p><p>#</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>They both sleep on the bed. Turns out there's enough space for the both of them. </p><p>Rachel has her head on her arm, staring back at Dana. The silence isn't as uncomfortable as she expected it to be. The only light right now is from the lamp behind her. </p><p>Dana smiles at her, eyes crinkling at the corners. She says quietly, “I had a lot of fun tonight.”</p><p>Rachel replies in the same hushed tone, “Me too.”</p><p>Rachel sees Dana lean forward and her breath hitches. She's so close, she can smell the rose in her shampoo. She bites her own tongue, tasting the blood when she does it too hard. All she can hear is silence, filled with anticipation and the loud banging of her own heartbeat. </p><p>Dana says, “Goodnight, Rache.” And reaches up behind her to turn off the lamp before settling back to her position and turning back, away from Rachel. </p><p>She stares for a minute. Her head is racing, the thoughts of how she thought they’d kiss running through it. Thoughts of how much she’d like it. Thoughts of how much she wants it. </p><p>And she realizes it, like the snap of her fingers, like a lightbulb switching on. </p><p>
  <em> Oh. </em>
</p><p><br/>
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